Double Whammy
by silvereyesish
Summary: ...Matt and Mello... In the beginning, Matt was a loner.


**Double Whammy**  
**Rating:** PG-15, for language, I'd say.  
**Genre**: General, Friendship  
**Summary**[Matt and Mello In the beginning, Matt was a loner.  
**Notes:** First time writing Matt and Mello! Also, L's laid back in this one, only because this is how I think he'd be if he still was at Whammy's House. May be fluff in the later chapters.

* * *

In the beginning, Matt was a loner. 

He wasn't one of the older kids in the orphanage, although in all honesty, age didn't really matter where he was (even if he did remember his exact birth date, the exact time he'd turn a year older). In Whammy's House, people were judged by IQ points, and not by anything else. Matt was smart, for an eight-year-old, because that's what a kid had to be to come to Wammy's House. He was not the smartest, because there wasn't anybody who could beat L in the brains category. Technically, though, Matt was the second smartest kid in the orphanage. The only reason he wasn't recognized as such was because one, he didn't really care all that much to make the effort required to maintain straight A's, and two, because he didn't want the attention.

Matt didn't have friends. He didn't need them (or that's what he told himself, anyway). All he needed were his video games (or that's what he told himself, anyway). Roger and Watari were glad to supply those for him if he behaved. Of course, Matt never behaved, but he was smart enough to cover his tracks to avoid being caught. The only person he thought that got away with more was L, and that was because L was favored. Because L was smart.

And the other children had no interest in making friends with him either. Usually, if they did acknowledge him, it was because they were beating him up. Matt had a witty brain, and the inability to think before he spoke, and that tended to earn him a lot of bruises. It didn't make sense to _keep on _making those smart-assed comments after the fifth or so beating, but Matt did it anyway, because he couldn't resist. Other than that, though, the kids left him alone, and Matt was just fine with that (or that's what he told himself, anyway). In fact, he preferred it that way, because he got a room to himself, he didn't have to remember to use his manners with people, and he didn't have to share his games with anybody.

But there was one person in the entire orphanage who paid attention to him. This person was the oldest of all the children, old enough to not even really be considered a child anymore. The person was simply known as L.

For the life of him, Matt could not understand why the oldest, smartest orphan would want to have anything to do with him. He found that he didn't really mind all that much. It was a nice distraction from whatever stray emotions managed to escape from the carefully constructed walls Matt put up. Even at eight, Matt knew that he was a mental case; otherwise he wouldn't have ever been accepted to Whammy's House.

* * *

"…What are you doing up so late, Matt?" 

Matt did not look up from the glowing screen of his Gameboy, knowing that L was the only one who would bother to come into his room at three in the morning.

"I wanted to beat my game. I'm almost got it finished." Matt answered over the faint beeps and clicks that emanated from his handheld. He could feel L's disapproval from across the room, but he didn't say anything to try and justify his actions. This was how it went every night that L came to keep him company. But it wasn't because L was just trying to keep Matt under his control; Matt knew that the reason L disapproved of his staying up late was because the young man suffered from insomnia, and didn't want Matt to suffer with him.

L stepped onto the bed and settled into his infamous crouch in a position where he could see what Matt was playing. The younger boy shifted over a little to make room for L, but still did not look up. This was routine. It was well established between the two of them that they were both insomniacs (even if L did disapprove greatly), so late-night visits like this were normal. L would come and watch Matt play until Matt fell asleep around four in the morning, tuck him in, and then wander back to his own room to attempt to sleep himself. Sometimes they'd switch it around a little, and Matt would come to L's room, but the routine stayed the same for the most part.

Tonight, Matt was playing Pokémon, and he was kicking ass. He knew that L had a soft spot for Pokémon, as the older boy had been the one to introduce Matt to the franchise in the first place. But tonight, L seemed restless, glancing around the room and tapping his knees with his fingers in time to the tinny music that sounded off from Matt's Gameboy.

Finally, Matt paused his game and glanced up at his older friend, frowning. L noticed immediately, and looked back at Matt, a frown on his face too. For a moment, the two sat there and stared, until Matt couldn't help but grin. His silly grin was enough to cause the corners of L's mouth to twitch up hesitantly, as if the older boy didn't think it was a good idea to smile just then. It was quiet again for a few more minutes, when suddenly:

"Matt, I am leaving in a few days." L blurted out.

Matt's Gameboy dropped from his fingers, hitting the bed with a soft thump.

"…Why?" was all Matt could manage, feeling the traces of panic rising in his chest. It must've shown on his face, because L looked worried as he reached out to rest a hand on top of the younger boy's head.

"Do not worry, Matt, I will be fine… Mr. Whammy informed me yesterday that the Japanese government has a case that they would like my input on, so I must meet with the officials there…" L trailed off, looking uncertain. Matt registered this as unusual in the back of his mind, but he was too busy freaking out to notice.

"But…but L! You can't leave! You can't go, if you do, I won't have anybody here, and it'll go back to the way it was before, where everyone just ignored me and didn't care at all and—"

L pulled the younger boy into a hug, cutting him off effectively, and made small shushing noises, much like a parent, or an older brother would to a child or sibling. Matt bit his lip, forcing back tears, because crying was for little kids, and he would _not _show weakness in front of the only person he really cared about in the whole orphanage…

"Listen, my little brother, I cannot say when I will be back, but I will as soon as I am able. I swear on the life of the last cake I had that I will be back before you are aware of my absence. Also, it was a very delicious cake, so the promise is extra reinforced, right?"

L was rewarded for his efforts with a small, slightly shivery laugh from the boy he considered a sibling. Matt didn't attempt to wiggle out of his 'older brother's' grip like he usually did when met with physical contact, but instead hugged L tighter than he ever had before.

"Okay, I believe you, I guess. Since you swore on the cake and everything," Matt said, his amused voice muffled by L's white T-shirt. L did smile this time, for real, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Of course, the cake is sacred."

Matt laughed again, and then pulled out of the hug, reaching for his Gameboy. He casually brushed at his eyes with a long, striped sleeve before saying, "But you gotta promise it'll be soon, and even if you're not done in a month, you have to come visit. 'Kay?"

L nodded, placing a hand over his heart. "I would give you scout's honor, but as I am not an actual scout, I doubt it would be legitimate." Matt rolled his eyes, and then, as if having second thoughts, threw the Gameboy to the side, glancing back at the older boy.

"L, you made me hungry for cake." Matt said simply, and made to get off the bed. It was always so surprising how fast L could move when sweets were brought up. The older boy was already at the door, fidgeting slightly as he waited for Matt to move off the bed. The younger boy snorted, half exasperated, half amused, and walked as slowly as possible toward the door, making L grumble in irritation. As soon as Matt had gotten within grabbing distance, L picked the boy up and walked briskly to the kitchen, ignoring Matt's angry protests.

Again, this was not an unusual occurrence. The two, who had an uncanny knack for never getting in trouble for anything, often snuck out after the curfew and pigged out in the kitchen, eating cakes and candies and potato chips and other assorted junk foods. It was another of those things that had become routine. Every once in a while, L would decide that he was hungry at about two in the morning, and would poke and prod and plead until Matt accompanied him to the kitchen, where they would steal a few cakes from the fridge and eat them with their fingers. Then, hopped up on sugar, they'd go back to whosever room they'd been in before and pull an all-nighter, completely hyper.

Tonight was different, though.

Matt was halfway done with his cake, and L was already starting on his second when the phone rang.

Both boys yelped, slapping hands to each other's mouths, and then, after exchanging looks, collapsed in muffled giggles that were more than a little girly. Always quick on his feet, L picked up both their plates of sweets, shoved them into the fridge, and grabbed the phone off the hook, holding it in the odd way that he held everything. Matt snorted in amusement, (he'd asked why L held things like that once, and the soon-to-be detective had stared blankly for a moment before answering with a shrug) and slid off his stool, instead choosing to perch up on the counter next to where the phone sat.

"Hello, Whammy's House, how may I help you at this very late hour?"

Matt grinned at L's slightly smart-assed comment. However, there wasn't much more to the conversation, and L made a few noises of acknowledgement before saying goodbye and hanging up. Immediately after he did so, Watari appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, sleepy-eyed and hair in disarray. For a moment, the elderly man looked startled to see the two boys in the kitchen at three in the morning, then embarrassed as he ran a hand through his hair to smooth it down, then finally composed as he fixed the boys with a stern glance. It was rather hard to take Watari seriously though, especially when he was dressed in a nightshirt and nothing else. Matt laughed, but managed to turn it into a hasty cough, while L bit his lip hard to stop the giggles from issuing forth.

"What are you two doing up so late? You do have classes tomorrow, Matt, and L, just because you're leaving soon doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want."

Matt's look of mirth vanished instantly, and L glanced down at his 'brother', looking a little angry. L's reply to Watari had a slightly rude tone to it (another odd occurrence, strange how this night in particular seemed to be full of them).

"Matt was sleep-walking, Mr. Whammy," L explained, using the elder man's real name, as did all the other orphans. "I was merely retrieving a glass of water for myself when Matt wandered in and ran into me. We were about to head back to our room when the phone rang."

Watari seemed to accept the excuse, nodding thoughtfully, and then opened his mouth to speak further. L guessed what the orphanage's co-founder was going to say next correctly, and continued on.

"The phone call was from an anonymous dialer. They said that they had found a boy wandering the streets outside our orphanage, going by the name of Mihael Keehl. He was asking people if they knew how to get in. Apparently, he wants to stay with us."

Watari looked surprised again, and Matt could empathize. It wasn't everyday that kids volunteered to live in an orphanage.

"He is currently sleeping on the bench outside our gate, waiting for one of us to come out so he can ask us if we will allow him to live here," L continued, ignoring the look on Watari's face. The anonymous caller believed that he is about nine years old, and he is extremely smart, using words that should not be in the vocabulary of children that age. By his description, he sort of reminded me of Matt here."

L gestured to the younger boy, and then began to walk off to the front doors. Matt watched him walk for a moment before scrambling after him, grinning at the way the young detective had handled the situation. Watari was following after them, but Matt didn't pay any attention to his caretaker, instead stepping into pace with L and nonchalantly slipping his hand into the older boy's. L smiled, but didn't call attention to the fact, instead gripping it back, reassuring.

When they arrived to the outside of the building, there was indeed a kid sitting on the bench. However, Matt doubted the anonymous caller had decent eyesight. The kid didn't look male, or at least, not by the outfit and the hair. In fact, when the kid jumped up to greet the three, Matt was just about to conclude the kid was female when s/he spoke.

"Listen, you!" Matt's eyes widened in surprise. The kid's voice was a unmistakably a boy's. Of course, it hadn't gone through puberty yet, but it was definitely male… "I wanna join this place, it's full of smart people, right? I'm sick of being around dumbasses all the time, and I heard this place was at least a little more intelligent than the other orphanage of asstards I came from."

L raised an eyebrow, although Matt wasn't sure if it was because of the girl with a boy's voice or the cussing. Matt could hear Watari making flustered noises, as if he was completely appalled by the kid's language. However, the older man was quickly forgotten as L answered the she-male, amusement in his tone.

"Well, Mihael, I see you have quite the mouth on you," L said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I do not think that Mister Watari will particularly enjoy having such a foul-mouthed child running around his orphanage," L paused, looking up thoughtfully, thumbs at his lips. Matt grinned, squeezing L's hand in agreement. The soon-to-be-detective grinned mischievously down at his adopted brother before looking back at Mihael. The blonde boy scowled, crossing his arms.

"I may gotta bad mouth, but at least I ain't a pussy like this kid. I don't go around holding people's hands like a little weakling." Mihael said loudly, gesturing at Matt. Immediately, Matt returned the scowl. He might've been a year younger than the blonde kid, but that didn't mean he didn't know what the term meant.

"Well, at least I'm not a friggin' transvestite, jackoff!" Matt retaliated, letting go of L's hand. The blonde boy's fury was apparent on his face.

"What the HELL did you just say to me?" Mihael shouted, stepping forward and grabbing a fistful of the front of Matt's shirt. The redhead merely smirked.

"I _said, _at least I don't look like a sissy, girly tranny, asshole."

Mihael's fist went flying toward Matt's face, but missed when Matt dodged, despite the distance. Matt had learned how to fight from L, and that was something. Quickly, the redhead dislodged the blonde's hands and dropped down to the ground to sweep Mihael's feet from under him. The blonde boy toppled to the ground, and Matt was just about to jump on top of him and beat the living daylights out of the boy for insulting him when he felt L's hands grasp the back of his shirt.

"Where did you learn such language, Matt?" L whispered, chuckling. Matt glared in the other direction, flushing, embarrassed. Common knowledge around the orphanage included the definition of every curse word there was, not to mention the fact that a good portion of the videogames Matt played had foul language in them. He wasn't about to tell L that, however.

Watari finally stepped in at this point, grabbing Mihael's arm and lifting him up. The blonde looked shocked to see that the old man could pick him up so easily.

"Listen, Mister Keehl, language like yours is not tolerated at this home," Watari said sternly. "If you wish to live here, you may, but if I hear you cursing, I will not hesitate to throw you out on the street. Understand?"

Mihael nodded meekly. Watari let go of the boy, who quickly tried to regain his composure. Matt snorted, and then turned to head back to the house. As he walked, he saw L offer his hand to the new kid, and Matt could not help the jealousy that rose in his chest. It was something he'd just have to ignore, for now.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, there is a second part. I haven't written it yet, but I'm working on it. I don't know how many chapters this will be, but it doesn't have much of a plot as of now, so it's probably just going to stay as two, once I finish the rest of my original plan.

Sooooo, yeah. Review?


End file.
